Do y’all know about Marcia Brady dressers???? {That is my original term, my contribution to design..ha!} These reproduction french provincial (and I use that term loosely) dressers are abundant at yard sales and junk shops. They vary in quality, REALLY vary, believe me. You know the look, little girl bedroom circa 1970-1980, typically a white/ivory color dresser with gold specks and accents.
{great example, Drexel from eBay, mine is not this nice!}
A lovely french knock-off look. Sometimes sold with a canopy bed and matching bedside tables. My very own Marcia Brady dresser is the perfect size..long and skinny, lots of drawers, and I proudly painted it black about ten years ago. Wow that was a long time ago but those were my PAINTED BLACK years and its been in this bedroom since we moved into this house.
In fact, my husband likes to rib me about being quoted in a publication (maybe two) for saying “black adds an instant touch of elegance to a room” or something of that absurdity. Well the thing is, I am sort of over the painted black. Can’t believe I just said that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Camille’s cabinets and new kitchen sideboard and many of my clients have black cabinets and I. LOVE. But I no longer instantly salivate and think “paint it black” when I see a ratty piece of furniture. So I did it, my Marcia Brady dresser (which cost all of $50 secondhand) is no longer black..it’s blue. Not country blue I keep telling myself but frenchy, swedish, “robins egg” blue. It’s much darker and vibrant in real life..it looks very icy in these photos.
After several test quarts from Sherwin-Williams and even Martha’s new paint line at Home Depot, I landed on “blue ivy” at Wal-Mart..oh how I hate saying “WM” on my blog but its true.
{My little “Jackson Pollack” helping me paint the back!}
After a lot of work and false starts, I finally like the color. Even more so after rubbing shoe polish on it. My brilliant friend recommended this and I thought she was nuts, I’ve heard of using sandpaper, raw umber, furniture wax..but SHOE POLISH? She is the type that can cut and color her own hair and look like a million bucks. I’m not, but I tried it and it worked. Notice the section on the right which has been “waxed” in contrast to the brighter area on the left that I still need to age. I also need to sand more on the hardware, paint that gold lamp and more styling overall but overall, I do like the dresser much more now that it is blue.
I may paint the rest of the black pieces in my bedroom, a large armoire and bookcase..thinking gray. But some things will always look good black, because you know it really makes a room look so elegant! ha!
How about you? Do you have a Marcia Brady dresser?? What color did you paint yours?? How are you using your dresser?? They make great sideboards! Leave a link in the comments..we would all love to hear!
